Nicole Hanas, Senior Safety Representative, and Scarlet Spain, Senior Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Process Specialist, & Wellness Coordinator at ArcelorMittal in East Chicago have been involved in making their company a healthier and safer work environment for quite a while.

Chief among these accomplishments is the growing popularity of company-wide events like the ArcelorMittal Global Walk, which has seen more attendance and enthusiasm under the guidance of Hanas and Spain. Both women are eager to spread health and wellness awareness at their place of employment.

"It's good to see [employees] get out of the work environment and participate in something fun. Everyone is always in good spirits; last year there was even a band," Hanas said.

"It is always fun to see people outside the clinic, and it's nice to see people outside and feeling well. It's good for me and it's good for them," Spain said. "Everyone gets a bag of stuff, T-shirts and things, and people think it's a really great event."

Hanas and Spain play a large part in planning and coordinating the walk which takes place at noon in every time zone that ArcelorMittal employees participate. This year's walk began at the Research and Development facility in East Chicago as part of Health Week, which has recently been expanded to Health Month. The event places great emphasis on employee wellness - at home and work, through flu shots, biometric screenings with incentives, and the Global Walk itself.

Health Month itself doesn't take place until the fall, but Hanas and Spain are already planning 2018's events and hyping up employee participation.

"The opportunities that you have here are fantastic. We have Learning Week, Health Week, and they are always open to supporting initiatives that people suggest," Hanas said. "Anything that the committees we have come up with; the company is very supportive. From a health and wellness aspect, we are seeing higher rates of people quitting smoking through our tobacco cessation reimbursement program."

"The company is very supportive of those kinds of initiatives, and our Safety Manager, Bill Emery, is very supportive of that," Spain added.

Their passion for the environment and the communities in which they live, as well as their amazing and fulling careers, are what keep Hanas and Spain in Northwest Indiana.

"I like the fact that I am able to be very close to work. There are a lot of bike trails around, I like going to the dunes and beaches, and I am big about supporting things for the local environment," said Hanas, who studied environmental science.

"I would say the same thing, going to the beach, and the Central Market [in Griffith], there's just so much to love about Northwest Indiana," Spain said.

With Hanas and Spain leading the way to better health for their coworkers at ArcelorMittal, the future is brighter and healthier for Northwest Indiana.